Written by David Zhao
About the Author
Current Position: Consultant @ Oliver Wyman (Dubai)
Education: Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management, 2020
ACE Consulting Group Involvement:
Associate (2015-2016)
Executive (2016-2017)
President (2017-2018)
What were the top three highlights of your student life at the University of Waterloo?
For someone starting their journey at UW, I cannot stress enough the importance of joining clubs, taking advantage of your co-ops, and doing your best to surround yourself with the right people. When I started AFM in the fall of 2015, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I had never taken an accounting or finance class before, and I was planning to finish my degree quickly and go straight to law school. Joining ACE in my first year was one of the most pivotal decisions I ever made in school (long story short, I’m not in law school), and I’ll discuss this in some more detail later on.
I also really enjoyed and appreciated the co-op experience. As an indecisive person who rarely thinks many steps ahead, having the opportunity every few months to work in a new role or a new industry was incredibly insightful. I learned very early on that I liked working in a dynamic environment with constantly shifting responsibilities, and that realization helped guide me to the consulting role I’m in today. Had I not had the chance to work in 4 very different roles during my co-ops, I likely would not be so confident in my decision.
Lastly, I’m thankful for all the people I’ve met during my time at UW. University is a difficult experience for everyone, and it’s very easy to feel trapped by the stress and pressure of school, exams, work, and expectations. The most important thing to remember is that no one is self-made. When you see individual successes, what you don’t see are the countless people that helped make it happen. To make the most of your potential, you need to surround yourself with the right people who will support you, and who you can support in return. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some of the most amazing people, many who I consider lifelong friends, during my time here - and I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity.
How has being a part of ACE impacted your professional life and/or career trajectory?
ACE has helped me develop myself professionally in more ways than I count. On top of the typical things you’d expect to learn, working with clients, managing projects, developing technical skills etc., ACE develops you through the people you meet. When you join ACE, you join a group that truly cares about you and your growth, both professionally and personally. There’s no fluff or self-interest in the advice you hear from fellow ACE members. From day one, I received help and guidance in identifying a career track that was right for me. I had help with my CV and my co-op applications. But more important than all that, I had support with anything I needed. There’s a lot that you can do in life by yourself. You can learn all the content you need for school online and ace all your exams, but you miss out on a ton of intangible value you get from knowing the right people and gaining knowledge from their experiences. ACE helped me meet so many wonderful people, from the organization itself, the clients we worked with, and the community partners we’re affiliated with. These connections and experiences have helped me discover passions, find co-ops, and become a better version of myself. I could not be where I am today without ACE, and that’s why I will always be a big supporter of this organization.
What was your favourite city to work in, and why?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked in many amazing cities. From Toronto to San Francisco, New York, and now Dubai, there is something special and magical about each place that makes comparison difficult. Perhaps it is a bit of recency bias, but my favourite as of right now would have to be Dubai. The city itself is quite a spectacle. A place founded in the desert yet with thriving neighborhoods beside beaches. A place that is so incredibly foreign to North America yet with all the comforts of home (e.g. Tim Hortons is a surprisingly plentiful and popular chain in Dubai). It’s a truly unique and interesting place to visit, but the thing I appreciate most about Dubai are the people. As Canadians, we pride ourselves on multiculturalism but we also love being Canadian. In Dubai, you are truly reminded of the diversity of the world. When everyone you meet has been in the country for less than two years, you end up with so many unique stories, ideas, and cultures that you would have never expected.
More than anything else, meeting people from around the globe has reminded me of how similar the human experience truly is. I’ve met several people, including close friends now, who were in Beirut on the day of the explosion last year. When you hear about stories like that from real people who you know and relate to, suddenly the world feels like a smaller, more connected place. At the end of the day, no matter where we’re from, we’re all just individuals trying do our best and make it through the day. Dubai can sound intimidating to those of us from North America, but it’s truly a global hub of multiculturalism that will expose you to a lifetime’s worth of international experience.
What advice would you give someone who was planning to work in a foreign country?
Don’t assume that being a professional is the same everywhere. We’ve come to associate the North American office culture with the way that things are done everywhere – and it’s not quite true. You’ll need to learn that working styles can be extremely different depending on who you are and where you’re from, and to not take things personally when something unexpected happens. For example, you’ll find that people in North America rely a lot on subtext. We tend to sugar coat things we say for the purpose of politeness and professionalism. You won’t always find that in other parts of the world. Many Europeans are some of the nicest people you can meet, but they won’t leave you guessing at what they’re saying. It can be a little intimidating at first, but you’ll quickly learn how to adapt to different working styles and forms of communication far beyond what we’re used to in North America.
My second tip is to embrace being Canadian. It’s almost funny but eyes really do light up when people hear someone with an American accent say they’re from Canada. We’re extremely lucky that our country has such a great reputation around the world, and it will absolutely help break the ice when meeting new people.
We saw the articles that you wrote on Medium about the applications of machine learning in finance. Can you tell us about what sparked your interest in this subject, and how you are currently learning about it?
I’ve personally always loved computers and have been fascinated with artificial intelligence and machine learning for a long time. When the lockdowns happened last year, I had quite a bit of free time on my hands, so I tried my best to learn as much as possible about it. I took a few courses on machine learning, read a few books, and started playing with my own algorithmic trading models. The thing with self-learning on the internet is that it’s incredible easy be lulled into a false sense of understanding on any topic. You can watch a couple videos, read a few articles, and come out feeling like an expert. I think my biggest takeaway is that there are no shortcuts. If it feels like it’s too easy – it probably is. After crashing and burning with my first few attempts of building an automated trading model, I decided that I would start taking things slow. I wrote a few articles for beginners in the perspective of what I would’ve loved to have known before I started. It’s not a particularly innovative insight, but you really do end up learning content better when you try to teach it. I’d encourage anyone who’s taking on these self-projects or self-learning experiments to try and write an educational article about it, it might help more than you think!